Godin Guitars

YellowLedBetterMan

Does anyone have any experience of these? Allegedly USA parts, assembled in Canada, and dirt cheap for the spec (especially used).

I've been looking at this on Reverb:

Godin SDXT Blue *see description* https://reverb.com/item/26496500-godin-sdxt-blue-see-description?utm_source=android-app&utm_medium=android-share&utm_campaign=listing&utm_content=26496500

Whitecat

The “USA parts assembled in Canada” is a gross oversimplification in general - they make guitars in both Canada and New Hampshire, and it tends to be that the lower-end models in their range are made in the USA. 

I have owned a few over the years - all very nice and very well-made, they do drop quite a bit in value secondhand so buying used is clever. I do seem to have sold all on mine on, can’t absolutely put my finger on why though other than usually it’s “to pay for something even nicer”. 

Kittyfrisk

Godin are great quality & value for money, but tend to suffer from a negative brand bias in the eyes of most guitar afficionados.
After all they aren't Gibson or Fender are they   
This means that you can pick them up for a song, but they will possibly never appreciate in value, so just enjoy them.
I particularly like the feel of the necks, very smooth satin finishes.
Currently have 4 Godin's. A Radiator, SD24, SDXT & LG P90 & no plans to sell any of them   

TTony

^^ echo what @whitecat said about being well made, and the mad falls in market value s/h.

They do their own thing, rather than copying standard designs, but the brand never seems to have achieved much profile in the UK.

Its not the same price range as the one you linked, but I’ve currently got an XTSA listed FS here ...

ICBM

They are pretty well-made, but every one I've played has been entirely characterless and boring-sounding, despite some of them looking quite distinctive, like the Radiator.

That even applied to the Acousticaster, which just seemed like a complicated and expensive way of making something that didn't actually sound any better than a Crafter.

DiscoStu

I love Godins. Just the nicest necks.
I have a Radiator, it sounds fantastic and filled my Tele hole for over a decade until I succumbed to the Baja. Baja has been in its case for months and the Radiator is back on my 'go-to' stand next to the TV. I have 10 guitars but I've had the Radiator the longest, from new in 1999. That says a lot!
I've had an Exit-22 in the past which I really liked (I upgraded the pickups) and I used another Radiator as the starting point for building a heavily modified custom guitar.

So yeah, I rate them!

Tikibird44

I've got a Radiator which I got new from a shop that was closing down quite a few years ago. A few of the Mother of Prearloid tuning knobs sheared. I contacted  Godin but they said they bought them in from a third party. I eventually tracked them down to a company in China [ who fast shipped me 3 spare sets in different colours free of charge] so not all the parts are "Hand crafted in Canada."
I fitted locking tuners and a pickup selector switch which makes it more usable but since I bought other guitars I hardly ever play it.

HAL9000

Only played a couple but would echo what @icbm says about them being perfectly well made but characterless. 

WindmillGuitars

Love them - have an artisan TC and SD24... Smashing specs for the money 

Funkfingers

ICBM said:

They are pretty well-made, but every one I've played has been entirely characterless and boring-sounding

I concur. 

My nearest stockist has carried a succession of 5th Avenue Kingpin models. After an initial flurry of interest, sales have tailed off. The models that I have tried were perfectly playable but lacked any "wow" factor. 

DB1

Had a Godin 5th Avenue Kingpin for a couple of years. It was excellent, a cut price ES125 if you like. I also had a Montreal Premiere for a short while and regretted selling it. I'm inclined to try a 5th Avenue Jazz at some point too.

I don’t find them characterless, to be honest. To balance the above, I also had a 5th Avenue Kingpin ll which was vile. 

Whitecat

I also disagree with the “characterless” designation... the ones I had were reasonably vibey and in a parallel reality I am still playing them today... would and will likely obtain another in the future if an interesting one pops up. 

Kittyfrisk

With the greatest of respect to all the 'characterless & boring" comments.
 Subjectively this can be true :-D
But... I have had Gibsons & Fenders etc. that fit this description, exactly.
My Godin goldtop LG P90, with it's Seymour Duncans, wipes the floor (other surfaces are available) with any Gibson equipped P90 that I have played (& I still own such Gibsons).
My SD24 has SD Pearly Gates & is as good as any guitar that I have access to (lots).
Not a scientific or reproduceable opinion, but are anyone elses opinions/endorsements any more more reliable?
The Radiator pickup blend control, gives tele-ish options that simply aren't available from a guitar not similarly equipped.

@ICBM ; has a thing about maple necks being good & tough, so is this now a failing? 
As ever, opinions are just that, opinions.
Buy a bargain, swap the pickups & enjoy laughing at the people that know best. 

GuyR

I have a fretless Godwin a5 bass. A number of people have said it is the best bass they have ever heard (not as a result of my playing). I have an a6 guitar. It's ok, but not in the same league. 

grungebob

I played two sessions HSS over the weekend and both were great guitars, really nice neck and I’d certainly put them at the top of my what to buy when you want a strat but not an actual strat list. 

The used values are terrible though so don’t buy new. 

axisus

For me they are decent guitars, but they will never be sexy guitars.
Some people don't want a sexy guitar - the sort of guitarist who marries Nora Batty types.

Amigo

YellowLedBetterMan said:

Does anyone have any experience of these? Allegedly USA parts, assembled in Canada, and dirt cheap for the spec (especially used).

I have one for sale here, I had it for about two years, a Core CT HB, LP shaped, of sorts.

Brilliantly-made guitars, but the electronics can be better. For mine, I ended up replacing the toggle switch to a Switchcraft, as the one it came with packed up after a few months. The neck humbucker, a Godin-branded one, GHN1, was nothing to write home about, no spark. On my searches online I found that it has a ceramic magnet, and that went at the same time as the switch replacement, for a SD Jazz neck, to match the SD '59 bridge that the guitar came with. While at it, I also replaced the pots and caps, which were PCB-based and not very confidence-inspiring, with Orange Drops and CTS mini pots (because the cavity was rather small).

The resulting guitar is a very good one. Apart from the electronics it came with and the neck pickup, I cannot fault it in any way, especially now, and to me it plays better than the Les Pauls of different prices I tried in stores. It is, however, a guitar for the rock/blues player. Whatever I played, it screamed to be driven, and 'abused', and I am not that type of player, hence the sale.

My opinion, in summary, based on both my hands-on experience and the various Godins I tried in store and the information online when researching them, they are beautifully put together guitars, very versatile, very playable, and very good value, even new. Second-hand, even more so. The electronics, however, are not the best, that is the consensus online to which I can subscribe, but replacing them improves the guitar tremendously. They seem to be appreciated by those who need a guitar in a professional capacity and don't care about brand image, as they are durable, mod-able, very playable, and very versatile.

Fretwired

I own three Godin guitars. All very well made with excellent components. Can't fault them. I have a jazz guitar and two electrics which have Seymour Duncan pups so I can't comment on the stock Godin electric pickups.

Amigo

Fretwired said:

I own three Godin guitars. All very well made with excellent components. Can't fault them. I have a jazz guitar and two electrics which have Seymour Duncan pups so I can't comment on the stock Godin electric pickups.

The comments I found online seemed to be focusing on the lower-priced guitars, mainly. I did not find negatives about the Summits and the likes, which seemed to be fitted with good quality components and SD pickups, for most part. But from my sub-£1,000 experience, corners were cut for the lower priced guitars. That being said, I would not be suprised at all if the issues I found described—and observed myself—were confined to certain manufacturing years and guitar lines.